Sakura Rewind
by KamiNoSakura
Summary: Sasuke and Naruto died, leaving Sakura all alone. What will happen when a mysterious man gives her an opportunity to change the fate of her beloved friends and the entire world?
1. Prologue: As the Rain Kept Falling

**Sakura Rewind**

**Written by:** KamiNoSakura

**Author's Note:**This is a story that I thought of during my youthful years in Middle school. I thought that Sakura's role needed a bit more of an impact, so I wrote this story and revised it a number of times, hope you enjoy. There are some of my OCs and a few of the original characters may seem to be a bit OOC, but otherwise I tried to capture their original personalities. On another note, I do plan on making a doujinshi of this story however it will take some time due to my lack of excellent drawing skills. Please bear with me everyone. I do not own Naruto, all rights go to Kishimoto Masashi.

**Warning**: Main Character Death (Sort of…) & Some Profanity

* * *

><p><strong>-Prologue- <strong>

** The Rain Kept Falling **

The rain kept falling from the dark grey and cloudy sky that hung above Konohagakure, the battle against Kabuto and the "fake" Madara was finally at an end. The victory of the Shinobi Alliance, however, was not one without great loss. The alliance had suffered tremendous casualties, first being the deaths of three of the Kages. They were A, the fourth Raikage, a man with both super human speed and strength. The second was, Oonoki who was known as the second Tsuchikage, an elderly man who had experience in many battles and wars. Also among the dead was Konoha's Hokage, Tsunade. She, despite her appearance was revered as a medical ninja, and her deadly strength. This was a great blow to the alliance however, that was not the end of their suffering. The other two Kages, Gaara, the fifth Kazekage and Terumii Mei the fifth Mizukage were severely injured and barely escaped death. Gaara had been knocked into a comatose state, along with severed limbs to his arms and legs. Torn muscle tissue and severe chakra and blood loss. Mei on the other hand, was alive and conscious. Although she also suffered from severe chakra loss she was still able to send out orders for damage control, only under constant monitoring of medical ninjas. To Konaha's shinobi Tsunade's death was only the beginning of the tragedy the war brought.

On the ground a few meters away from the Konohagure's faces of the Hokages of the past to the present laid two bodies, one of them belonging to a raven-haired boy who looked to be about sixteen or seventeen, the other a blonde spiky-haired boy who was about the same age. They were once teammates who couldn't stand the sight of one another, rivals who constantly competed, best friends who would always watch each other's backs, and bitter enemies who could not escape fate and fight to the death. No one was able to change their fate; both Sasuke and Naruto understood this better than anyone. They were fine shinobi that earned the respect from the people in Konoha and other nations. This was a tragic loss for their friends. Although they all grieved, none of them suffered as much as Sakura. She was their teammate and best friend, the person who was with them from beginning to the very end.

The pink-haired kunoichi walked slowly to their cold corpses, she kneeled down with disbelief of their death. She stared at them blankly and not accepting the cruel reality of it all…no, it's not that she couldn't accept it, she refused to. Kakashi, the group's sensei and mentor stood beside his last student and placed his hand on her shoulders. In that instant, she burst into tears and cried her heart out…she continued to cry as the rain kept falling…


	2. Chapter 1: The Deal of a Lifetime

**Sakura Rewind**

**Written by:** KamiNoSakura

**Author's Note:**This is a story that I thought of during my youthful years in Middle school. I thought that Sakura's role needed a bit more of an impact, so I wrote this story and revised it a number of times, hope you enjoy. There are some of my OCs and a few of the original characters may seem to be a bit OOC, but otherwise I tried to capture their original personalities. On another note, I do plan on making a doujinshi of this story however it will take some time due to my lack of excellent drawing skills. Please bear with me everyone. I do not own Naruto, all rights go to Kishimoto Masashi.

**Warning**: Main Character Death (Sort of…) & Some Profanity

* * *

><p><strong>-Chapter One-<strong>

** The Deal of a Lifetime**

Hours had seemed like days to Sakura; the other shinobi had left the area and began to clean all the aftermath and debris left by the war. Sakura knew that she had to help, but a part of her wanted to stay behind with her two fallen teammates. Inside she felt that if she waited, any moment they would wake up and have everything go back to normal, before the war, before Orochimaru's manipulation over Sasuke…before any of the chain of events that lead to this sad and miserable ending. However, Sakura knew that this is one nightmare that she will never wake up from.

She stood up from the muddy earth, as she was about to leave something in the distance had caught her attention. The unknown figure slowly approached Sakura. It was a man wearing a white kimono, long silver hair that glistened in the light, ivory white skin and icy blue eyes. He was certainly a handsome man with delicate features, and one with a commanding presence. Sakura couldn't breathe with the current atmosphere let alone move.

The man spoke with a deep and clear voice that resonated with the surrounding area, almost like an echo "Do you wish to save these two souls?" the question took Sakura by surprise, and the answer was obvious.

"Of course I want to save them! I want them to live, and be happy!" the kunoichi shouted at the man, thinking that her feelings and their sacrifice were being mocked in some way.

"What would you do to save them, how far would you be willing to go for their sake?" Sakura paused, and said "I'd give up everything in order to save Sasuke and Naruto, everything…even my own life."

Her voice was filled with the determination to save the two people she cared about the most. The mysterious man smirked, and said "It seems to me that your mind has been made up…" before he continued on Sakura interrupted

"First, before this conversation becomes more weird and uncomfortable for me, who the hell are you? If you don't give me a serious answer I pound you into the ground!"

"Well I supposed it would be rude if I didn't introduce myself to a kunoichi such as yourself Haruno, Sakura"

Sakura flinched he moment he said her name '_Who is this guy? Not only does he know my name but I get this feeling that he knows a lot more than he's letting off…but why do I feel so scared?_'

"My name, I have none, however many people refer to me as Futsunushi, the kami of swords and lightning and a loyal servant ofAmaterasu-sama.

The pink-haired shinobi couldn't believe what she was hearing. _'Is this guy serious, as if a kami such as Futsunushi would descend from the heavens and down to earth and talk with a shinobi, or rather talk with me?' _ Futsunushi could tell that she needed some convincing.

"Well, it seems to me that you do not believe in the fact that I am indeed a kami. What can I do to prove you otherwise?

Sakura had thought for a moment_, 'If he is a kami, then he should be immortal, but he's no ordinary kami he's the one that controls lighting and weaponry such as swords, so then his fighting abilities should be easily exceed my own.'_ With that in mind Sakura charged at the supposed kami and didn't hold anything back. Her right fist that was filled with chakra was heading straight towards the unsuspecting victim. Before it made contact however, Futsunushi disappeared in a flash of lightning and appeared right behind Sakura. She then realized a long blade of a sword that was pointing at her neck, ready to kill in instant. _'He's good, and fast but that doesn't mean he's a kami…' _Her thoughts were interrupted by the sword master.

"Still need more convincing I see, well then I'll let you kill me right here and now…that is if you can." The provoked shinobi did just that, she quickjly grabbed a kunai from her Hollister and thrust the blade through Futsunushi's heart. Despite her skills as a shinobi, no blood came from the attack and her target was still standing as if nothing had happened to him at all.

"What the-" the surprised pinkette exclaimed. "Well I am a kami after all, I cannot be killed. If I were to die so easily then my death would have occurred ago. Now then, back to business are they any questions you like to ask me to further prove my being a kami?": Sakura shook her head at the last statement, which was more of a question. The kami smiled at his success and asked "Now where should we begin?"

"Well first off why did you ask me if I wanted to save Sasuke-kun and Naruto…I should think it fairly obvious."

"Indeed, I wanted to see how strong your conviction and dedication to your fallen comrades was."

"They are not just mere comrades!" shouted Sakura, "They are my best friends! Splendid ninja and heroes in their own right! Don't confuse them with anything less!"

Futsunushi smirked at Sakura's burst of emotion. "Well then, how about the two of us make a deal?"

"A deal?" This confused Sakura, but she was interested in what Futsunushi would offer her. "What is that you're offering?"

Futsunushi smirked again, "The main reason why I am here, the business that I had with you. I will give you the opportunity to save Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto."

Sakura was speechless…how is it possible to save them when they are already dead? Is he going to resurrect them like Kabuto did with the other shinobi that the alliance has been fighting? "W-what? Save them? How? How the hell can I save them when they are soon to be buried six feet under? Don't fuck with my emotions you bastard!" Sakura was losing grip of her emotions and all her anger began to flood out like a tsunami.

"Calm down Haruno-san, certainly I can bring them back to life, but that is not my job. I simply take lives, I do not wish to interfere with the souls of the dead after they have left their bodies. I merely give others a chance to bring them back using a different method."

"What is this different method you speak of?"

"Tell me something…do you regret any of the mistakes you've made in the past?

Sakura contemplated for a moment, then after some minutes she responded with some sadness that shown on her face. "Yes, there are actually quite a few things that I've regretted…ignoring Naruto when we were children, neglecting my training as a ninja, not focusing on what's important…and well I wanted to change myself really. I was always the weaker one, the person who watches from the sidelines, but never really leading the way like Naruto or Sasuke-kun. Always acting like a know-it-all, like I was better when it was the complete opposite. But most of all, being the person who couldn't save her friends from certain death…" Before Sakura realized tears were cascading down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away to hide another weakness that she hated herself for having.

"It's alright to cry Haruno-san, I'm a kami…I've lived a long life and certainly had my fair share of tears. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

The kunoichi smiled, and giggled at the last comment Futsunushi made. To think that even a kami could cry. "So what was the point of asking about my regrets and mistakes of the past?"

"Ah yes, well, although I can't give their lives back I can however return you to the past. With your current mind intact of course, so that you are more prepared in changing the fate of your loved ones…and yours as well."

"…You mean…going back in time?"

"To put simply…yes. Going back in time, what better way of changing fate?"

"What's the catch?"

"What makes you believe that there is a catch Haruno-san?" Futsunushi said, acting surprised at the thought.

"The fact that you said the word "deal" implies that both sides would have to contribute something in exchange. Since you're offering me the chance to change everyone's fate, what do I need or have to bargain with?"

Futsunishi's smirk returned once more, "You're quite clever Haruno-san, as expected from someone who is known to possess a great mind. There is indeed a price for granting a wish such as yours, and it's an expensive one at that."

"I already know the price…" Sakura said, the face showing strong resolve.

"I see…If you already known then, what will your answer be? Will you accept my offer?" asked Futsunushi already knowing the answer she'll give.

Sakura saw the kami's face and knew that she couldn't refuse, knowing herself that the opportunity was too good to pass. "You already know the answer, but I'll say it anyways and it's yes."

The silver-haired kami, satisfied with the response pulled out his arm hand reaching out towards her head. His hand covered her eyes. Suddenly Sakura began to feel tired, everything became a blur and eventually the surrounding area turned pitch-black. Sakura had made the deal of a lifetime…


	3. Chapter 2: Back to the Past

**Sakura Rewind**

**Written by:** KamiNoSakura

**Author's Note:**This is a story that I thought of during my youthful years in Middle school. I thought that Sakura's role needed a bit more of an impact, so I wrote this story and revised it a number of times, hope you enjoy. There are some of my OCs and a few of the original characters may seem to be a bit OOC, but otherwise I tried to capture their original personalities. On another note, I do plan on making a doujinshi of this story however it will take some time due to my lack of excellent drawing skills. Please bear with me everyone. I do not own Naruto, all rights go to Kishimoto Masashi.

**Warning**: Main Character Death (Sort of…) & Some Profanity

* * *

><p><strong>-Chapter Two-<strong>

** Changing One's Fate**

Sakura had awoken from what seemed to be a very long slumber. She forced her heavy eyelids to open and found herself on the bed in her room. She began to get off her bed and try to recollect what had happened before she blacked out.

"What just happened? Was that all a dream? Well, hopefully it was because it more of a nightmare than a dream to me…what time is it?" Sakura then proceeded to checking the clock that stood on top of her vanity. As she looked at the clock, she caught a glimpse of the mirror and to her surprise…."Let's see, what time is i-WHAT THE HELL?"

Her shouting nearly blew off the entire roof of her house (not literally of course). Sakura had just discovered that she had the same body of when she was merely 4-years old. Her long pink bangs covered her forehead; hair was short and not decorated with the ribbon that her former best friend Ino gave her. As she was lost in thought she then noticed a figure behind her. Being true to her shinobi instincts and reflexes, she was preparing to attack the unknown intruder when a strong hand grabbed her wrist and made his presence known.

"Futsunushi?" exclaimed the now young kunoichi.

"Just as planned, even in your younger state you still possess the same instincts and strengths that you had in your older self and the same mental state as well."

"So this was the plan?"

"Naturally, this way you'll be able to predict what happens to yourself and your friends. You can protect them without rewriting history, or you can change it. However you want it doesn't matter to me in the least."

"Then can you explain to me why you are doing this? What's your motive behind helping me?"

"You are correct in assuming that I indeed have a motive and I will gladly share it with you when that time comes. But for now, you proceed on with your own mission." And with that Futsunushi faded and vanished from Sakura's sight. She stood in her room thinking of what her mission was.

_'Well I know I have to save Sasuke-kun from getting the curse mark from Orochimaru, actually scratch that I don't want Sasuke-kun to meet with that snake bastard at all! But how can I stop his desire for revenge?'_ A sweat drop came down from the back of Sakura's head at that moment when she was contemplating on how to get rid of Sasuke's revenge.

_'It's so freaking obvious! Prevent the Uchiha massacre…but wait, Naruto mentioned that Itachi did it because the clan was a threat to Konoha.'_ She thought again in silence. Her emerald eyes became serious.

_'That just leaves one last option…I'll have to be the one to destroy the Uchiha clan….'_

"I would have never thought that I would have to do something if this caliber, but I have to…for Konoha, for Sasuke-kun. This means that I would have to leave the village at some point." Sakura thought for a moment, figuring out her plan as to the massacre of the Uchiha clan and what would happen if and when she would be caught. This mission would be more complicated and difficult than she thought. Unfortunately no brilliant ideas were popping up, Sakura then decided to give up temporarily, she'll leave the house for a bit and see if anything comes to mind as she's out and about.

Sakura then went to her closet for a change of clothes. "I think I should scout around and see how the others are, and I have to find out when the Massacre is going to take place." She decided to change her attire a bit, rather than the red and green clothes she generally wore she chose a black sleeveless turtleneck shirt adorned with a pink sakura flower in the center. Followed by denim capris and of course the shinobi sandals that most if not all ninjas wear. She decided to leave her bangs down and headed out the door.

She travelled through the ninja academy, glancing at the other children as they played she then saw a young boy in the distance. Blonde and spiky hair, fox-like scratches across his cheeks Sakura knew right away that it was Uzumaki Naruto. The pinkette was trying her best to fight the tsunami of tears that would inevitably crash down her ivory cheeks. A well of happiness and other similar emotions began flooding inside of her, she couldn't help but smile affectionately at the young would-be hero of the entire shinobi world. She knew that Naruto was always alone as child, Iruka-sensei wasn't around back then or rather now. The kunoichi set a new mission for herself not only would she be the one to save Sasuke-kun from Orochimaru, but she would also be by Naruto's side for as long as possible.

With that in mind Sakura walked over to the kyuubi host. Naruto looked up from the swing he was on and gazed upon large emerald eyes, ivory skin and unusually pink hair her perfect innocent face was decorated with a beautiful smile that Sakura gave him. He immediately blushed and was entranced by both the fact that there was someone willing to be near him and smiling, to top it off she was very cute.

"Are you all alone? Why don't you play with the others?" She saw the immediate effect her question had on Naruto and his face grew sad and weary.

"T-that's because I don't want to play with them, they're just playing ninja! It looks so boring, no fun at all!" Sakura knew that he was trying to put on a brave face, but that façade won't work on her. Not for another hundred years, not as long as he's the name idiotic and compassionate Naruto who wishes to become Hokage.

"Well then you wouldn't want to play ninja with me?" Naruto's eyes grew wide with disbelief. No one has ever asked or invited him to play or hang out before. He then showed off what was known as his signature fox-like grin.

"You mean it?" sakura smiled at his enthusiasm.

"Of course, by the way what's your name? I'm Haruno Sakura."

"Sakura-chan huh? That's a pretty name it really suits you! I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'll become the Hokage one day, just you wait and see!"

'_Yup, same old Naruto. It doesn't matter if it's the past or future him, he's still the same.'_

"Well then, if we want to play ninja we're going to need more people. Now who should we ask?"

"Sakura-chan, no one's going to play with us, because of me. I don't even know why, maybe it's because I don't have any parents…" Sakura's face became sad. She knew exactly what he was talking about, and knew why the entire village avoided any form of contact with Naruto. The reason is because he carried within him Kurama, the great nine-tailed beast also known as the Kyuubi.

"Don't be so sure Naruto, we haven't even tried yet. Why don't we look around the area to see if anyone could play with us?" Naruto smiled at Sakura's determination.

"Okay Sakura-chan! Let's go!" With that they left the academy and headed for the training grounds. They looked for people high and low and found a young boy by himself and using a log for practice. He had long black braided hair, wearing Chinese-like attire and had very large eyebrows. Sakura knew right away that it was Rock Lee was a young boy, she giggled to herself thinking how much he's changed and how much he hasn't. She approached Lee as he continued training. He then noticed Naruto and Sakura, quickly glancing at Naruto then focused his gaze on Sakura. To him she was the epitome of beauty, it was love at first sight to him.

"Hello, are you training by yourself?" asked Sakura.

"Yes, I want to prove to everybody that I can become a splendid shinobi using only Taijutsu! Also my name is Rock Lee!

'Lee-san is also the same as we was back then.' She smiled sweetly at Lee.

"I'm Haruno Sakura, and this is Uzumaki Naruto." She looked back at Naruto, signaling him to greet Lee.

"Yo Fuzzy-brows!"

"F-fuzzy-brows? How rude, they are not fuzzy, they're just thicker than most people's that's all!"

"They look pretty fuzzy to me!" Said Naruto giving a fox-like grin.

"Okay you two settle down. Naruto that was very rude, apologize." Sakura said while acting as the peacekeeper of the two.

"But Sakura-chan!"

"Come on Naruto, did you forget why we're here?"

Naruto thought for a moment and then remembered the reason he and Sakura were out looking for other children. "Oh yeah! We were looking for people to play ninja with us!"

"Exactly! So Lee-san would you like to play with Naruto and me? We need more people, and we would love it if you joined us." Sakura smiled as she asked Lee who was happy beyond belief.

"Really? You want me to play ninja with you?" His eyes were sparkling with excitement. None of the other children wanted to play with Lee, since he couldn't use any jutsu, he was basically useless to them.

"Well shall we get started then?"

Both Lee and Naruto said at the same time, "YES!"

And off they went, playing on the training grounds, playing their game of ninja happily. Sakura thought o herself, it was good being back to the past.


	4. Chapter 3: New and Unexpected Rivals

**Sakura Rewind **

**Written by:** KamiNoSakura

**Author's Note:**This is a story that I thought of during my youthful years in Middle school. I thought that Sakura's role needed a bit more of an impact, so I wrote this story and revised it a number of times, hope you enjoy. There are some of my OCs and a few of the original characters may seem to be a bit OOC, but otherwise I tried to capture their original personalities. On another note, I do plan on making a doujinshi of this story however it will take some time due to my lack of excellent drawing skills. Please bear with me everyone. I do not own Naruto, all rights go to Kishimoto Masashi.

**Warning**: Main Character Death (Sort of…) & Some Profanity

* * *

><p><strong>-Chapter 3-<strong>

** New & Unexpected Rivals**

The game of ninja took place in an open field of grass that was peppered with daffodils and the seeds of dandelions scattered throughout the clear blue sky that hovered overhead. Sakura was enjoying herself to the fullest, she didn't have very much fun since Sasuke's abandonment of Konoha. She glanced over at her two companions Naruto and Lee who were just as exhausted as she was. The three continued to look above at the clouds watching the different shapes and forms they took and listened to the singing of the birds that occasionally flew by. They were enjoying their peace that is, until they heard what sounded like an explosion in the distance. The three became alert, Sakura was more mentally prepared for battle compared to the other two who have yet to experience battle. Sakura then saw in the distance a small cloud of smoke that was building from a thicker part of the forest.

_'I can't leave them by themselves, but if there is an enemy shinobi….'_ Sakura weighed her options and decided to bring Naruto and Lee along. If worst came to worst she would protect those two with her life.

"Lee-san, Naruto let's go and check out that explosion." Sakura declared at the two.

"Okay!" Both Lee and Naruto agreed that it would be a better idea that they find out if that explosion was a potential attack on Konoha. They hurried on over to the site of the explosion. There they saw two figures, one was a young man who looked to be in his teens and the other a small child who was no older than they were. Sakura immediately acknowledged them as the two Uchinha brothers, Sasuke and Itachi. She was near tears when her eyes fell upon the younger form of her childhood crush, but she quickly shook off those feelings, not wanting to be the weak, useless crybaby anymore. She regained her focus and observed the field which was obviously the site of the explosion. Itachi noticed them and stopped what he was doing.

"Is there something I you children need?" asked the Uchiha prodigy.

Sakura was a bit annoyed by the remark of them being children, but she remembered that it was true. She was a child now, literally.

"Sorry for the interruption, but we saw an explosion and decided to check it out and find out if it was an enemy attack. But it seems that it was unnecessary, we'll be leaving now." Sakura bowed towards the older Uchiha and turned to leave.

"Hold it!" Sakura looked back to see the younger Uchiha calling out, more like shouting out at herself. "What could you have done?"

"I'm sorry?" asked Sakura who was trying to understand Sasuke's question.

"What could you have done if there was an enemy attack? Someone as weak as you would only get themselves killed, you wouldn't have been of any help at all." As Sasuke continued to berate her, Sakura's annoyance grew more and more. She was about to snap when both Naruto and Lee came to her defense.

"Shut up! Like you could have done any better! Who died and made you the judge of everyone's capabilities?" Shouted Naruto.

"That's right! You shouldn't make assumptions when you don't know your enemy's strength!" Added Lee. Sasuke then smirked, taking those comments as a challenge.

"Well then, shall we test out your abilities?" Inquired Sasuke, his question sounded more like a challenge to Naruto and Lee.

"Fine!" With that Sasuke raced towards Naruto and Lee. For a shinobi his age he was fairly speedy. Sakura knew how this fight would turn out, but she stood and watched the boys engage in combat.

Lee saw Sasuke raise his right arm and curled his hand into a fist readying for a punch. Lee then raise both of his arms in order to block the attack. It was all in vain as Sasuke feigned the attack and used his left leg to kick Lee at the side of his head. He was sent flying and landed hard against the surface of the ground. He writhed in pain as he struggled to get up, but couldn't. Sasuke then went for Naruto. He quickly appeared right behind the Jinchuuriki, as Naruto turned to face the young Uchiha we was punched in the gut and collapsed onto his knees from the sharp pain. Sasuke looked down on them, seeing how easy his victory was. Itachi sighed at his younger brother's arrogance and was about to step forward but was beaten to the punch by Sakura.

"See? You guys would have been killed in a heartbeat if it was an enemy shinobi"

"Well since you're so confident why not fight me in their place?" Sasuke was surprised by Sakura's sudden challenge and scoffed at the idea of fighting a delicate-looking girl.

"You must be joking! You would be beaten faster than those two lose-!" He then noticed the seriousness of Sakura's emerald eyes. He stepped back a bit, fear circulating throughout his body. _'W-what the? What's this feeling?'_

"Well?"

"Huh? Well what?"

"Shall we find out if I'm as weak and delicate as you say I am?" As Sakura challenged Sasuke he noticed a gleam in her eyes, one of anticipation and confidence. In that instant he noticed that she disappeared from his line of sight. Not realizing that she was already behind him, preparing an attack. His senses kicked in and saved him from a seemingly strong punch, which cracked the ground considerably. As he was recovering from dodging the last attack, Sakura took the opportunity to send chakra to her feet, increasing her speed ten-fold, once again she appeared behind the young Uchiha, sending him flying a few meters away with her kick. Sasuke struggled to get back on his feet but was finding much difficulty. The pinkette walked up to the boy, smirking, as if enjoying his defeat with much pleasure.

"Do I look delicate to you now Uchiha-san?"

"Wait, wha-how did you know I thought of you as delicate? I never said that." Inquired the now confused Uchiha.

_'That's right he didn't say delicate, but I'm sure I heard him saying it at some point…What's going on?' _Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.

(In Sakura's Head)

"So you finally noticed did you?"

"Futsunushi! What's going on here?" Demanded the kunoichi.

"Calm down Haruno-san, did you already forget?"

"Forget what?"

"Before we made our deal, I promised you several things. One of them was giving you a few abilities that you never had before."

"So are you saying that one of those abilities was the ability to read other people's minds?"

"Exactly and that's not the only ability I've bestowed upon you. You can also communicate with others telepathically, you have all the chakra elements and a few other abilities as well, but I'm not going to spoil it for you just yet. Well it's about time that I left, but I'll be in contact with you soon. Until then…" Futsunushi's voice disappeared from Sakura's head.

(Back to the Training Grounds)

_'Ok, now how to explain to Sasuke-kun…'_

"Well it was easy to read your expression. Your eyes tell me more about you and your thoughts than you might think Uchiha." Sasuke was dumbfounded. He didn't realize that his expressions betrayed his thoughts to the enemy. Anger built up inside of him, he was angry at himself for being vulnerable to his opponents, he was angry at the pink-haired girl who defeated him so relentlessly and exploiting one of his faults. Sakura saw fury in his eyes, and knew that Sasuke who she loved and adored would more than likely hate her with a passion. This was one of the many sacrifices she would have to make in order to protect not just Konoha, but the entire shinobi world. While the two young academy students were involved in their own world, Itachi, who was watching his younger brother and the young girl was impressed by Sakura's skills in fighting.

_'For someone her age to be able to master chakra-control…she's someone to keep an eye on. But there's something about her. I can't shake this odd feeling…well I'll look into it later, right now I better calm Sasuke down before something bad happens.'_

"Sasuke!" Called out the older of the Uchiha brothers. Sasuke's ears perked up by the voice of his idolized brother. Sakura noticed that the fury in Sasuke's eyes was replaced by happiness and found it amusing. Seeing that Sasuke, who was revered as one of the greatest threats to the world is now gleaming with excitement when around his older brother. A giggle escaped her lips which didn't go unnoticed by the Uchiha brothers.

"W-what's so funny?" Demanded Sasuke.

"Huh? Oh it's nothing really…" Obviously not believing her he shot a glare at the amused kunoichi. Itachi saw his brother feeling insulted by the young girl and had a sweat drop hanging from the back of his head. Sakura also noticed this forcing her controlled giggles into uncontrollable laughter. She held her stomach with both of her arms wrapped around and tearing from the rather loud chuckles and finally collapsing onto the hard earth, unable to contain her laughing. Sasuke pouted, frustrated and confused from the girl's sudden break-down.

"Hey what the hell are you laughing at?"Sasuke demanded as he finally snapped. Sakura stopped most of her laughter and explained the source of her amusement.

"Well that would be you, I never thought I would ever see the day where a member of the great Uchiha clan would act like a lost little puppy, happy to find it's owner…it's so cute!" Sakura resumed her laughter leaving the young Uchiha boy speechless and bright red with embarrassment. Itachi also chuckled at the image of his younger brother who acts tough and cool being an adorable little puppy.

"Aniki not you too!"

"Sorry Sasuke, but she does have a point." Smiling to avoid any unnecessary tantrums that his brother would inevitably throw, He then turned to Sakura who after getting the laughter out of her system checked on her two fallen friends. Still holding an interest at the young girl's capabilities in battle he approached the kunoichi.

"I apologize for my ototo's behavior to both you and your friends. Are they alright?" Before Sakura could answer, she saw that both Lee and Naruto began waking up from their unconscious state. Lee's eyelids trembled as they struggled to open, as he did open his eyes the gleam from the harsh sunlight hurt a bit, but Lee nevertheless opened his eyes to see Sakura sitting beside him. His heart fluttered as he laid eyes on the girl he fell in love with. Naruto also showed signs of regaining consciousness. He slowly opened his eyes and saw a pair of green eyes. He knew that it was Sakura's eyes that were staring at him with some concern. Both of the boys shot up, realizing that they were knocked out from their battle with Sasuke. Naruto gritted his teeth, angered by his rather quick and humiliating loss against the Uchiha boy. Lee was also frustrated by the outcome. This didn't go unnoticed. Sakura knew that they were upset, being beaten in such a way, who could have blamed them?

"How are you two feeling? Can you stand up or should we take you to the hospital?" The two boys stayed silent, they didn't want to go to the hospital even if they needed treatment. Sakura sighed at their stubbornness and thought of something to cheer them up.

"Hey are you two hungry? How about we get some Ichiraku Ramen before we head home for the day?" Naruto's eyes widened happily, ramen was one of the things that he loved and enjoyed the most. But what made it even better was that he could have ramen with his people he can finally call friends, and one of them is a girl he's falling helplessly in love for.

"Yeah! Let's go!...but wait, who's going to pay?" Hoping that he wouldn't have to pay with what little money he had. Sakura smirked, knowing what kind of frugal spender Naruto was.

"Don't worry, I have an idea." She said with a smile. This perked Naruto and Lee's curiosity.

"What's your idea Sakura-chan?"

"We could ask iruka-sensei from the academy."

"Iruka-sensei…" Naruto's eyes noticeably became filled with sadness, thinking of one of the teachers he didn't really like.

"It's ok, I'm sure he's willing to treat us, and Naruto. If you want, we can a little trick on him."

"A trick? What trick?"

"Just think about it, if he treats us then he's paying, and you can eat all the ramen you ever want while making his money fly out the window." She explained with a bit of a mischievous grin that surprising all the boys that were present. Naruto thought for a moment, registering (Which took some time) Sakura's idea until it finally sank in. His lips curved upwards into a very wide smile.

"Yeah I like that idea!" Sakura giggled at his antics which is the Naruto she adored, energetic, determined and would never let any opportunity for a prank slip away.

"Well then, we better get going and find Iruka-sensei." As Sakura, Naruto and Lee were about to leave, they were stopped the young Uchiha boy.

"Hold on!" Shouted and demanded Sasuke who was pointing at Sakura. "That's right, you with the big forehead. We're not done with our fight." Naruto and Lee looked at Sakura, not knowing that after they were defeated she was the one fighting the Uchiha.

"Sakura-shan? What's going on?"

"Ah, well while you two were knocked out I challenged the Uchiha-san to a fight and won."

"You did not win!"

"Not yet anyway." Smirking at the enraged Sasuke.

"Then let's finish this!" At that point Sasuke charged straight for Sakura but was intercepted by his older brother Itachi.

"Now Sasuke, that's enough for today. We have to go home before mother scolds us. Besides, a loss is a loss. You need to learn how to accept it." Sasuke was about to protest but stopped, knowing full well that Itachi was right. He glared at Sakura.

"Fine I'll leave for today, but I refuse to lose to you a second time! Got it forehead girl?" Sakura twitched at one of the things she absolutely hated being called and grew more irritable at the Uchiha by the second.

"Sasuke, that's very rude, apologize to her." Sasuke refused to do such a thing and simply turned his head, looking away from the bubblegum haired girl. Itachi let out a sigh, then turned back to the other children. "I'm sorry for my otooto's rudeness. Actually we haven't properly introduced ourselves yet have we? I'm Uchiha Itachi and this is Sasuke. And you three are?"

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'll be the future Hokage someday!" Exclaimed the jinchuuriki.

'_So he's the vessel of the kyuubi huh, well that makes things a bit more interesting'_Itachi thought to himself as he continued to listen to the introductions. In all honesty, he was only interested in the young girl who defeated his little brother with little to no effort.  
>"I am Rock Lee, although I cannot use ninjutsu or genjutsu I plan on being a great shinobi using only taijutsu!"<p>

'_A shinobi who can't use neither ninjutsu nor genjustu is certainly a rarity, I wonder how this one will fare in the shinobi world?'_ Itachi then turned to Sakura, obviously interested. Sakura noticed Itachi's sudden interest in her and decided to torment him a bit by not saying anything.

"Well we have all the introductions out of the way, let's go get some Ramen."

"Hold it right there forehead, you've neglected to say your name."

"Who says I have to?"

"W-what? You have no manners!"

"Funny,coming from the jerk who looks down on others and calling them rude names."

"Well you do have a big forehead! You forehead girl!"

"Just for the record my name isn't forehead girl, it's Haruno Sakura. You. Duck. Butt. Head." Silence immediately fell upon the five, after hearing the new nickname Sasuke was given. Bursts of laughter followed suit from Naruto and Lee. Even Itachi struggled to hold in his uncontrollable chuckles.

"D-duck butt? How the hell did you come up with such a name?"

"I guess you haven't looked at the mirror recently have you? I mean that hair style looks like a duck's butt, even you have to admit to that." Sasuke just stood silently thinking about what Sakura had said about his hair.

'_Is my hair really like a duck's butt…? All the other girls fawn all over me to the point of annoyance, but her eyes (Sakura's) didn't even glitter with affection like the others. She's really different…never mind, I won't bother about it anymore.' _His thoughts were interrupted by Itachi speaking to everyone.

"Alright everyone, now that we all know each other how about we call it a day? I'm sure you're all tired from the excitement that went on today. You three enjoy your ramen, I look forward to seeing you all again soon." Itachi then took his leave, gesturing Sasuke to do the same. Sasuke obediently followed his brother, still heated from his earlier conversation with the girl he now considers a rival.

'_Haruno…Sakura, I won't lose to you a second time'_

Back with Sakura and the others, they were heading towards the ninja academy, hoping they'll find Iruka-sensei there. To their dismay he was not there.

"I think we should split up and search for him, we can cover more ground that way. If you see him, ask if he's willing to treat us to ramen. We'll meet at Ichiraku's in an hour, agreed?" Sakura took control of the situation, treating it as if it's a real mission. Naruto and Lee both agreed that the plan was the best course of action to take, with that the three sped off to find Iruka-sensei. Naruto was heading towards Hokage Mountain, where the faces of Konoha's previous Hokage's are carved out. They were the heads of Senju Hashirama, the first Hokage and the founder of Konoha. Second was Senju Tobirama he helped in the making of Konoha. Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen is the present Hokage, after the death of the fourth, he returned to the position and protected the village since. The fourth and final Hokage, Namikaze Minato, the hero of Konoha. During the time when the village was attacked by the Kyuubi, he selflessly gave his own life to seal away the nine-tailed demon fox and saved Konoha from destruction. All of them were highly respected in both their village and others across the shinobi world.

As Naruto was searching the mountain, Lee was checking the streets of Konoha, bustling with people it made the search difficult. Sakura found herself travelling through the residential areas of Konoha. Many buildings and apartment complexes were decorated with various colors and shades. As Sakura was admiring the exterior of the homes she stumbled upon a large wall and gate, she checked the name plate and found that it was the gate to the home of the Hyuuga clan. They were one of the most prestigious clans in Konoha, rivaling even the Uchiha clan. With Sakura's current height, the walls seem even taller than they normally would. As Sakura continued to be in awe of the sheer size of the area her instincts kicked in, as an object swirled towards her. She jumped out of the way of the object, which she saw as a kunai. She quickly scanned the area searching for her attacker.

"What business do you have with the Hyuuga clan?" Demanded the voice of Sakura's attacker. Sakura closed her eyes, heightening her other senses. Her ears picked the location of the voice. She disappeared from sight, confusing her opponent. Before they were able to make another move Sakura had put a kunai to their neck, ready to take the kill. Until she realized who her attacker was. A young boy adorned with long chestnut hair, pearl-like eyes and his forehead wrapped in bandages. It was none other than Hyuuga Neji. A young boy who is said to be a genius and is Lee's rival in the (near) future. She lowered her weapon and directly faced the young Hyuuga.

"What's the big idea? Why attack with no warning?" Asked a slightly irritated Sakura.

"You're one to talk, what business do you have with the Hyuuga clan?"

"Nothing, I just happened to be passing by."

"You sure have quite a lot of time on your hands. If you have time to nose around people's property then maybe you should be training."

"First of all, what I do in my own time is none of your business, second of all I wouldn't say to the person who nearly killed you just now."

"I could have defended myself."

"Really? Shall we test that theory?" Sakura in an instant drew back the kunai she had originally held and threw straight towards Neji. His instincts kicked in and saved him from certain death. He activated the Byakugan, the dojutsu, the Kekkei Genkai of the Hyuuga clan. This allows them to see through their opponents and look straight into their chakra network.

'_As expected from Neji, for him to be able to control the Byakugan at such a young age…well even so, he still hasn't had the battle experience yet.'_ Sakura, impressed by Neji's abilities sent chakra to her feet, giving her extra speed to avoid Neji's range of vision. Although his Byakugan was activated, his eyes couldn't keep up with Sakura's speed. Before he knew it, Sakura was right behind the Hyuuga hitting the back of his neck, knocking him out.

'_Well I have to say, Sasuke-kun was easier to beat. At least I didn't have to worry about fighting two number one rookies with rather annoying dojutsu.'_ Her thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of a man who looked very much like Hyuuga Hiashi, the leader of the clan.

"Neji, are you alright son?" Sakura was surprised by the comment.

'_Son? Then this must be his father, the one that died for the clan…'_ Hizashi looked at the young girl who impressively defeated his own son, the one known as a prodigy within the clan.

"Who are you? May I ask what business do you have here?"

"Ah sorry for my rudeness, I'm Haruno Sakura. Actually I don't have any business with the Hyuuga clan, I'm looking for Iruka-sensei of the Ninja Academy and I happened to pass by the Hyuuga estate. I apologize for any intrusion, but it was completely unintentional." She bowed and was about to leave when Neji stopped her.

"W-wait!" She turned to face the beaten-down Hyuuga boy.

"Yes, what do you want?"

"W-were not d-done yet…" He struggled getting back on his feet but to no avail. He then gave up and was content with sitting on the cold earthy ground.

'_Good grief! What's with these guys and their annoying stubbornness? Can't they take a hint and just accept their loss?'_ A sigh escaped Sakura's lips as she walked towards the young prodigy.

"Look, I'm not going to continue this fight, especially a fight that's all about pride. As future-shinobi we must learn to accept our losses and move on with our lives. We will inevitably face situations where we lose people we love in battle or in times of peace, there is no way of knowing when their deaths would come, nor our own. This is the reality we and almost everyone in the village live in and it's one we decided on our own." Hizashi was amazed by Sakura's maturity and understanding of the shinobi life.

'_It seems that this generation of shinobi will be one of the greatest this village, no this world will see. This girl especially, she will be a great asset to the village, with her knowledge and skill she will undoubtedly be a powerful shinobi in the future.'_ He grinned thinking of how lucky Konoha is to have such a kunoichi.

"Well what would like Haruno-san?" Asked Hizashi, breaking the tension between the two young shinobi-to-be.

"I'm sorry? What do you mean?"

"A reward of course. After all you did win in your fight; I should think that a reward would be appropriate."

"Oh no, please don't trouble yourself. The fight was unplanned and it was my fault since I did intrude on the Hyuuga estate. No reward would be necessary."

"That's right father! Why should we give her a reward anyways?" Demanded the confused Hyuuga boy. Hizashi looked down at his son and placed his hand on top of the child's head and patted him. He then returned his gaze at the young pink-haired kunoichi.

"Then think of it as a gift of gratitude."

"That's even more confusing…can you explain?"

"During your fight with Neji, I was watching from the start. You could have easily ended Neji's life the moment you found him, but you didn't. You actually did the exact opposite of what a shinobi should have done. You gave him a chance to live, whether he chose to fight or runaway afterwards was out of your hands, but you still allowed him the chance of freedom."

"What's your point father?"

"My point is, seeing your skill in battle, it would have been easy to kill in an instant and seeing your knowledge and understanding killing another is no heavy burden. But you showed compassion and sympathy with my son, and for that I thank you."

"Please Hyuuga-san, there's no need for thanks or any form of gratitude…"

"I insist, please…" Sakura wasn't too sure of what she should have done in her current situation, but she just gave in and nodded in agreement with Hizashi. He smiled at her whereas Neji was pouting at his father's odd change in behavior.

"So Haruno-san what would you like as a gift?" Sakura thought for a moment. The Hyuugas were known for their skills in Taijutsu and other things. She tried to think of something reasonable and useful. After a moment of contemplating her options she then knew what she wanted from the Hyuuga twin.

"Hyuuga-san, if it's alright. May I have a chart?"

"A chart?" Inquired the confused father.

"Yes, a chart of the human body and its chakra network." Hizashi was stunned to a point of speechlessness. He didn't know that someone who isn't older than his own son knew about the Byakugan's abilities to see their opponents chakra network.

"How did you come across such information?" Asked Hizashi who was slightly concerned, this didn't go unnoticed by Sakura.

"It's a pretty common fact that the Hyuugas are known for their abilities to see straight into the chakra system thanks to the Kekkei Genkai, the Byakugan. Although I do admit it is unusual for someone my age to have such information. But it's a hobby of mine."

"A hobby?"

"Yes, I would spend most of my time researching various things about our village and some other villages as well, let's just say I like to know what's going on with my home village." Hizashi took a moment in deciding whether he should be worried about the knowledge this girl had, but decided to follow his gut feeling that was telling him to trust the kunoichi.

"Very well, please wait a moment…." Hizashi left into the estate, as the two children were waiting Neji shot a glare at Sakura.

'Oh brother, Neji and Sasuke-kun are more alike than I thought…" She let out a sigh which provoked Neji.

"What's your problem?"

"Huh?"

"Why the sight, are you bored or something? Don't get too cocky, just because you defeated me this one time!"

'_These two are so similar it's kind of …scary…'_

"No I'm not bored, it's just that I have to meet up with my friends soon. But before that, I have to find Iruka-sensei."

"Why do you need to find an academy teacher?"

"Well…" Sakura paused and grinned at the reason why Naruto, Lee and herself were trying to find Iruka-sensei for. "Well, that's a secret, sorry."

"Tell me."

"Why does it matter? I didn't think that a Hyuuga prodigy such as yourself would even care about the life of a stranger like me."

"I-I don't care about you and your life, it's just just…"

"Just what?" Neji didn't know how to defend himself. It's true though, why did he care about what the annoying kunoichi did? He was saved an explanation when his father, Hizashi appeared with a scroll at hand.

"Here you go Haruno-san." He handed the scroll to Sakura who smiled and bowed as a gesture of gratitude.

"Thank you Hyuuga-san."

"Now to let you know, the first chart in the scroll is the chakra network of a normal shinobi, and the rest are those with various Kekkei Genkais that are known in the shinobi world. Even the Hyuuga clans." Sakura was shocked, she didn't think that a proud Hyuuga member would be so willing to give away a major secret of the clan, especially their own weakness.

"Father, what's the meaning of this?" Exclaimed a confused and equally shocked Neji.

"Calm down Neji, the reason I did this is simple. I believe in you Haruno-san."

"Believe in me? Why? I haven't really done anything that warrants in your trust."

"True, logically speaking I should be suspicious of you, but my gut feelings are telling me otherwise. Although it's against my better judgement I am going to trust my intuition and believe that you will help Konoha in the future. I can't explain why really, but I have no reservations about you." Sakura was speechless, she had no idea of what to do or say when Hizashi laid down his own heart and feelings like that.

'_He's right though, I do plan on changing the outcome of the future, even if it means that I have betray everyone in the village. I will do whatever it takes to save everyone!'_ Sakura's eyes became serious and understood what it took to save Konoha, she bowed once more and made her way to leave. Before she left, she looked back at Neji.

"Neji! If you want to have that rematch then enroll in the same year as me in the academy! Then I will fight you whenever you want!" Neji's eyes grew wide, and then his lips curved upwards at the declaration of Sakura's challenge.

"Fine, but I won't lose to you again Haruno!" Neji faced his father, who knew what Neji was going to say. "Father, I'm going to enroll in the academy next year and face her again!" Hizashi didn't say anything and just nodded his head in agreement.

Sakura continued her search for Iruka-sensei and she now had some new and unexpected rivals…


	5. Chapter 4: The Return of Old Friends

**Sakura Rewind**

**Written by:** KamiNoSakura

**Author's Note:**This is a story that I thought of during my youthful years in Middle school. I thought that Sakura's role needed a bit more of an impact, so I wrote this story and revised it a number of times, hope you enjoy. There are some of my OCs and a few of the original characters may seem to be a bit OOC, but otherwise I tried to capture their original personalities. On another note, I do plan on making a doujinshi of this story however it will take some time due to my lack of excellent drawing skills. Please bear with me everyone. I do not own Naruto, all rights go to Kishimoto Masashi.

**Warning**: Main Character Death (Sort of…) & Some Profanity

* * *

><p><strong>-Chapter 4-<strong>

** The Return of Old Friends **

Sakura continued her search through the village in the hopes of finding Iruka-sensei. As she searched and searched she noticed the time and decided to meet up with Naruto and Lee.

_'Well it's been about an hour, I better meet up with Naruto and Lee. Hopefully they had better luck finding Iruka-sensei than I did.' _She sped through the residential area, then the town and finally reached Ichiraku Ramen. She saw Lee and called out to the young boy.

"Lee, any luck?" Lee looked in the direction of the voice.

"Ah Sakura-san" He let out a sigh. "Unfortunately, I could not find Iruka-sensei…how about you?" Sakura shook her head in response. The two stood and let out a sigh. The then wondered what happened to their energetic blonde friend. Their pondering thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of two people. One of them was Naruto, and the other was a tall man. He had his brunette hair tied in a high pony-tail, his forehead was adorned with one of Konoha's forehead protectors; which were a sign of being an official shinobi of Konoha. One of his noticeable features was the scar that pierced across the bridge his nose from one side of his face to the other. The man looked at the two children who were in front of him.

_'Leave it to Naruto to be able to find Iruka-sensei, I bet he pried him out using some sort of prank….' _Sakura thought to herself.

"Naruto-kun, how on earth did you find Iruka-sensei?" Naruto grinned, whereas Iruka looked a bit distraught.

"Well, as it turned out Iruka-sensei was at the academy grading papers like there was no tomorrow. I had a feeling that he wouldn't leave unless I made him."

"Naruto…what did you do?" Sakura raised a brow as she asked a question that she might regret.

"Well…I painted stuff all over the academy walls."

"Naruto!" Both Sakura and Lee couldn't believe that Naruto went so far to drag Iruka-sensei out of the classroom. Sakura's surprise washed over. She knew Naruto well, so hearing what he did didn't surprise her as much as it should. Naruto had a habit of pulling pranks like that when they were still students at the academy.

"I'm sorry about all of this Iruka-sensei." Sakura said as she bowed to the older man.

"Don't worry about it, I promised Naruto that I'd pay for the ramen if he's willing to clean up the entire academy tonight. Well now that we're all here why don't we eat some ramen? I'll pay for both Sakura and Lee as well."

"Ah well, if that's the case then we should help Naruto clean up, it's the least we could do since you're treating us Iruka-sensei." Lee nodded in agreement.

"Alright, I guess that's a fair trade. Now let's eat!"

"Hai!" All three children agreed and the four entered Ichiraku's.

Ichiraku's Ramen:

As the four were in the midst of eating, Iruka decided to start up a conversation.

"To be honest with you kids, I was surprised when Naruto told me that he was meeting up with friends. I've never seen him so happy and excited before." He said with a gentle smile.

_'No surprise there, Naruto really didn't have any friends until we graduated from the academy and were sorted into our teams.'_ Sakura had thought.

"Well actually Sakura-chan was the one who approached me first, we then looked for another person to play and that's when we met Fuzzy-brows." Lee became irritated by the nickname that Naruto gave him.

"Don't call me Fuzzy-brows and more importantly don't make fun of my eyebrows!" Before Naruto was able to say anything else Sakura smacked him upside the head.

"Ow! Sakura-chan, what was that for?" Rubbing his head as he asked.

"Don't make fun of Lee, especially since he and I will be helping you clean up your mess. It's ok to make fun of your friends, just don't make a habit out of it. Otherwise your head will get in the habit of being hit. Or would you rather have a brutally beaten body?" She asked Naruto while threateningly cracking her knuckles. The Kyuubi-host felt shivers travelling down his spine. But his fears were soon replaced by happiness when he thought about what Sakura had just said.

_~It's ok to make fun of friends, just don't make a habit out of it.~_ The word "friend" stuck out. He was so happy to finally have friends, he wasn't going to be alone anymore.

_'Today's been the best day ever! I get ramen, friends and…' _Naruto glanced over at Sakura who looked as happy as he was. _'…I met someone like Sakura-chan'_ His cheeks changed to a light pink color as he thought about the pink-haired kunoichi. Iruka noticed Naruto's change in behavior and was happy to see that his student-to-be has friends that he can enjoy life with.

"Oh Lee, are you ready for the new school year? We're starting in a week so don't forget." Lee went silent for a moment. Sakura and Naruto became worried about the sudden silence of their friend.

"Actually Iruka-sensei….I think I'm going to the academy next year…." Iruka and the other two looked at Lee with shock painted on their faces. "I know this is sudden, but the thing is the children my age always made fun of the fact that I can't use any ninjutsu or genjutsu. I only have my taijutsu to rely on. When I told this to Sakura-san and Naruto-kun they didn't make fun of me, actually they didn't say anything about it. The only thing Naruto-kun remarked about was the thickness of my eyebrows…" Naruto let out a big grin. Lee glared at the Kyuubi vessel. "…which I don't appreciate by the way."

"Darn, you're ruining my fun Fuzzy-brows." The two stared at each other before they broke out in laughter. Sakura and Iruka smiled at how the two boys were enjoying the company of the other.

The four finished their ramen, with Iruka staring depressingly at the emptiness of his wallet. When Naruto is treated to ramen by someone else, he never holds back.

_'Poor Iruka-sensei, I kind of feel bad. Seeing as I was the one with the ramen idea…'_

"Well it's about time that I get back to those papers. They won't grade themselves. See you kids later, and Naruto make sure you clean up the mess by the end of the week." Iruka then waved at the children. "Stay safe you three!" He then disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving the children by themselves.

"Naruto, why did he say week?" Sakura asked as she peered in Naruto's eyes.

"Ah, well, you see…the mess I made…well let's just say I've made a month's worth of work for us…heh heh heh…AHHHHHH!" As soon as Naruto finished his sentence Sakura made a mad dash and raced after the troublemaker. If there was one thing Sakura never liked about Naruto it was the mess he's left which someone always ended up cleaning for him. That was when Sakura was still in her original time, she's gone through this situation before and there was no way in hell she'll let Naruto repeat history. It was a risk to change history, but there are some things that should, and Naruto's dirty habits are certainly one of them in Sakura's book.

"Naruto! You better clean most of that up, you hear me!"  
>"But didn't you say that you'll help Sakura-chan?"<p>

"We'll help, not do the job for you!" She then stopped chasing after the blonde prankster. Naruto noticed Sakura's erupted change and wondered what was wrong.

"Sakura-chan? What's the matter?" Before he knew it, Sakura grabbed his arms so that he could not escape.

"Well since I don't feel like chasing you, I'd thought I'd make you come to me." Sakura looked back at Lee. "Come on Lee, Naruto let's do all the cleaning today."

"W-wha today? Sakura-chan that will take all night!"

"Then so be it, and don't complain. You're the reason why we're doing cleaning duty in the first place. So suck it up!"

"H-hai…"

"Besides, don't think of it as a chore. Try thinking that it's a challenge, or training."

"Training?" Both of the boys asked, not understanding what their pink-haired friend was saying.

"Yes training. If we manage to clean up the entire academy by tonight, and do a good job it'll reflect on our speed and efficiency, both of which are necessary traits for shinobi to have." The two young boys nodded in understanding and agreed that it was a good idea to clean the academy in one night.

"Yosh! Let's get cleaning!" Shouted the blonde boy as he raised his fist in the air above. Sakura and Lee's only response was a nod; they raced through the town. Running to the ninja academy, and arrived at their destination.

"It seems that we're not the only ones here." Sakura said as she immediately sensed the presence of others. "Come on out, I know you're hiding!" There was sudden movement in the bushes beside them. Then appeared three young boys, one of them had brown spiky hair, with red (upside down) triangles adorning each cheek. He was accompanied by a small white puppy. Sakura knew that it was the younger Inuzuka Kiba, in her original time he was a fierce shinobi, with an equally fierce temper. Although he has his flaws he makes up for it with his loyalty towards his friends and comrades, always watching their backs. Beside him was a boy with his hair tied up and with a lazy expression, it was obvious that the bored genius was Nara Shikamaru. Behind his was a rather chubby child, instead of triangles on his cheeks like Kiba he had swirls, he appeared to be a bit frightened by Sakura and her companions, it was Akimichi Chouji. This didn't escape Sakura's notice. "Hey you can relax you know, we're not going to do anything to you." She said, attempting to calm with an apologetic face. Chouji looked at the pink-haired girl, his shoulders relaxed and he gave the girl a small smile.

"Hey, who are you guys?" Asked the animal-shinobi, which sounded more like a demand to the ears of Sakura, Lee and Naruto.

"We can ask you guys the same thing! What are you guys doing here?" Shouted the blonde.

Kiba shot back, "Hey! I asked you guys first Shorty!"

"S-shorty? We're the same height!"

Sakura quickly grew impatient with the two boys, she was fairly tempted in sending them both flying across Konoha. However, her rational side knew she shouldn't. "Will you two stop fighting?" Interrupted the future medic.

"This has nothing to do with you forehead!" Sakura merely sighed.

_'Why must everyone comment on the size of my forehead…well not like I care anymore, but still this is getting old really fast…'_ Her thoughts came to an erupt end when she heard Naruto shouting at Kiba.

"Hey! Don't talk to Sakura-chan like that teme!"

"I can talk to her however I want to brat!" As the two were arguing Lee tried to speak with his female companion.

"Sakura-san, I think we should stop them. I mean, I understand how irritated Naruto-kun is but we have to clean the academy tonight."

Sakura whispered back. "I know Lee, don't worry about it. Let me handle these two." Lee just simply nodded his head. Sakura then turned her attention to the boys who were still arguing, she grabbed both of their heads and shoved them into each other. Although she didn't use nearly as much force as she normally does, it was still quite a powerful impact for the two unfortunate boys.

"Sakura-chan, what was that for?" Naruto said as he tried to massage his head that was recovering from the collision.

Sakura stared at her blonde companion for a moment, then opened her mouth to say something. "Sorry about that you two, but I had to stop your senseless bickering. It was driving me crazy. And besides…" She turned to Naruto. "Did you forget why we're here in the first place?" It took a moment for the jinchuuriki's brain to register what Sakura had meant. Then…

"Oh right! We're supposed to clean the academy!" Sakura and Lee both sighed in exasperation.

_'Well at least he remembered, even if it took him a while…well that just means he's the same old Naruto as before. Heh, it's funny, he'll be the same idiotic knucklehead in ten or so years, and will be one of the greatest heroes in shinobi history.'_ "Well now that you know, shall we get to work?"

"Yeah!" Sakura turned to face Kiba "Sorry about this, but we're kind of busy right now. If you want to continue this fight then see us tomorrow."

"Why are you guys cleaning up the academy?" Asked the quiet and lazy Shikamaru who was standing beside his best friend in the back.

"Ah well, Naruto-kun made a bit of a mess and we're here to clean it up." Replied Lee.

"That's the story. We better get started if we want to finish by tonight. Let's go Naruto, Lee." With that the three young shinobi-to-be had left Kiba, Shikamaru and Chouji in the dust.

After five grueling hours of cleaning, the trio had finally finished their task. Lee and Naruto found themselves slumping under one of the thick trees that were in front of the academy. Sakura searched the building, double-checking to see if there were any spots they had possibly missed. Since Naruto was the cause of the graffiti she had to be certain, afterall with him involved you can never be too careful. Sakura saw that there were no other places that needed to be fixed she walked to the front of the academy only to find her two clumsy friends sleeping at the base of a tree. She smiled, feeling proud of her companions at what they had accomplished in one night. She approached the two in order to wake them up, as Sakura did Iruka-sensei had appeared in a cloud of smoke. Apparently their teacher had watched over them as the trio diligently worked and scrubbed the academy walls.

"Sakura, we should let them sleep. They've worked hard and they need their rest." Iruka told his young kunoichi student.

"I understand, but we can't let them sleep here they'll only catch a cold." The older man had nodded agreeing that it wouldn't be such a wise idea to let them sleep in such a place.

"Don't worry. I'll carry them both home." He picked the two up, holding each with one arm. Despite his appearance, Iruka-sensei was fairly strong. "Sakura you should go home and rest up as well, I'm sure you're just as tired as these two. Would you like me to take you home as well?" Sakura shook her head. Indeed she was tired but not enough that she needed an escort home.

"Thank you for the offer Iruka-sensei, but I'll be just fine getting home. Besides I'm think you have your hands full, quite literally." She pointed at the children Iruka was holding.

"Ha ha ha I guess you're right. Well I'll take my leave then, be careful on your way home alright?"

"Hai Iruka-sensei. Good night." With that Iruka took a large jump to one of the roofs of the academy and disappeared into the night.

After her sensei left, she made her way back home. A few minutes passed and Sakura had arrived at her house and allowed gravity to take over as she dropped on top of her soft, fluffy bed. Her exhaustion finally kicked in. _'I guess my body isn't used to this amount of work. Looks like I'll be training starting tomorrow…and figuring out what I need to do about the coming events…'_ Sakura then welcomed sleep, knowing that from this point on she'll have to work her hardest to ensure the happiness of her dear friends and loved ones.

Morning came, as light gleamed through Sakura's bedroom curtains. The young kunoichi dragged herself out of bed, preparing herself for the day. After a few moments the pinkette was ready to go. After saying her good mornings and goodbyes to her parents she left the house, as she was running to the one of the training areas of Konoha she noticed two children in the distance and found them to be Naruto and Lee.

"Good morning Sakura-chan!" Yelled the excited young Kyuubi-host.

"Good morning Sakura-san" Followed Lee. Sakura couldn't help but give a warm smile to the two boys.

"Good morning Naruto and Lee. What are you two up to?"

"We were waiting for you!" Explained the blonde.

"Waiting for me?"

"Yes, we wanted to play some more games like yesterday."

"Oh well actually I was going to train today." The moment Sakura had said that, her two friends' smiles fell, sadness portrayed on their faces. Sakura had felt a little guilty, until a thought hit her. "Would you two like to train with me? I'm sure it's more fun training together than by myself. What do you say?" Immediately their faces lit up like a fire and nodded in agreement with Sakura's idea. Both of them followed her to the training grounds that will later become the training grounds for team 7. The young future medic felt waves of nostalgia, missing all the memories that she shared with Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi. Now with her changing the future, those memories will be hers alone to carry, as she makes new ones with the rest of the world.

After about six or so hours of sparring and practice, they were completely exhausted. Normally this amount of training would be nothing to Sakura, but her body has yet to be conditioned under extreme stress. Meaning she had to start from square one all over again. However her skills and chakra control is still the same as her future self which she was more than grateful for.

"Well that's should be all for today. I'd say we improved quite a bit."

"(huff) (huff) Ye-yeah, you're right Sakura-chan…this was a g-great idea to train." Naruto tried to agree with his foxy grin while catching his breath. Lee on the other hand was just too tired to say anything, but still managed to gather the energy to nod in response.

After a few minutes of resting, the three started to walk over to one of the lakes in Konoha. Apparently Naruto liked to pass by that area at the end of the day, before he goes home. So they decided to walk with him and agreed to make it a tradition after their practices everyday. However, as they were walking Sakura's instincts kicked in, her blood began to rush throughout her body which is the usual result of a dangerous presence in the area. She closed her eyes and allowed her other senses to heighten, she was barely able to hear it but there was definitely someone in the area and they were travelling through the trees.

'Whoever it is they're in a hurry to the lake…wait the lake is right beside the Uchiha compounds!' Before Naruto and Lee opened their mouths to speak Sakura made a mad dash towards the lake.

"Naruto, Lee we got to hurry I think there's an intruder in the village!" The two immediately followed and tried their best to catch up to their female companion. One the way they passed by the young Neji. Without another thought he followed once he knew that it was Sakura who had passed him.

"Hey Haruno where are you going in such a hurry?"

"Why are you following if you don't know what's going on Hyuuga?"

"I wanted another fight, and this time I'll win…" The pinkette had cut him off before he could finish.

"Not right now Hyuuga! There's an intruder in the village and if we don't hurry someone might get hurt…or worse!" Neji's eyes widened a bit at her statement.

"If there's really an intruder than we have to tell one of the more experienced shinobi. There's no way a bunch of academy students can take on a killer shinobi!" Sakura knew Neji was right, but he was only right about himself, Naruto and Lee. She was the exception. She's experienced battles, pain and had too many near-death experiences than she would have liked, but the most important fact was that she survived. No matter the difficulty she made it through, that will never change and it won't today! Growing impatient at Sakura's lack of response he yelled, hoping to get her attention and to get his point across.

"This is SUICIDE! We're just going to get ourselves killed if we don't get the proper help now!" The young kunoichi was quickly getting irritated by Neji's cowardice. She stopped and turn to face the young genius.

"If you're so fucking scared Neji then don't follow! Get the other Chuunin or Jounin if you want but I'm going and nothing you say or do is going to change my mind. Whether you follow or not is up to you, but otherwise shut up and don't bother me!" Neji's mouth shut tight, as did Naruo's and Lee's. Although Sakura wasn't aiming to quiet those two it turned out for the better. She turned and began to run towards the lake once more, increasing her speed to make up for the loss of time. The three boys that followed struggled to catch up to the pinkette, but maintained a close distance.

At the lake there was a small port, it was the only lake on Konoha that wasn't a part of a training ground, which is usually cut off from the general public. Sasuke was sitting at the edge of the port, trying to think of what happened the day before. Mainly about his loss to the young pink-haired girl that gave him a humiliating defeat in front of his older brother. Since then he was too ashamed to face Itachi, the man that he idolizes more than anyone else. The young Uchiha lost his train of thought when he heard a voice in the distance.

"Ah Sasuke, I didn't know you were here!" Called out a young blonde girl with pale blue eyes. Sasuke was not the least bit excited to be discovered by one of the most annoying girls in his age group, the most annoying was definitely Ami. The girl believes she's queen of everyone and has this crazy idea that he, Uchiha Sasuke actually loves her! She's just plain insane.

"Tch, it's only you Ino. Go away, I don't feel like dealing with you or anyone else for that manner." Trying to sound as mean and rude as possible to drive the young girl away.

"Aw, come on don't be like that Sasuke. I'm one of the better girls in your fan club."

"Not much better…" He muttered under his breath.

As the two were engaging in a more or less one-sided conversation, with Ino being the one to do most of the talking a shadow suddenly cast upon the small figures of the children. Sasuke swiftly looked at the sudden visitor. It was a tall muscular man. He wore a mask that covered from his nose down to his neck. His attire was covered with belts of sharpened kunai, the shinobi also carried two broad swords on his back, making an "X". However the weapons were not the things Sasuke and Ino were most afraid of. It was his eyes. The dark eyes this man had were filled with nothing but bloodlust. He stood in front of the two while standing on water, causing small ripples to form at the base of his feet. Even with his mask Sasuke could tell that the man was smiling maliciously at the children, like a predator upon pouncing his unarmed prey. The young Uchiha couldn't move, fear circulated throughout his small body and beside him was Ino who was trembling uncontrollably.

"Well well, looks like I got lucky. Two children to kill today." His voice was rough and deep, adding more to his intimidation. His left hand reached for one of his broad swords, as he was drawing the blade his senses flickered and the shinobi jumped out of the way from a chakra-infused kick that came from above. Although the kick missed its target, it sent a powerful wave that headed straight for the invader. The shinobi jumped above the wave and saw who his unexpected attacker was.

Sasuke's eyes widen considerably as he saw who his savior was. "Sakura?" Said girl took a quick glance back at Sasuke and Ino. Checking for any injuries, to her relief they were unharmed and she brought her attention back to the intruder before her. From the side of the lake Naruto, Lee and Neji had finally caught up with Sakura and ran to Sasuke and Ino's side. At the sight of their arrival The invading Shinobi grinned.

"Well what do we have here? One, two, three, four, five, six children to add to my collection. I've just hit the jackpot!"

Sakura glared at her opponent. "Congratulations, you can count. And as for your prize for hitting the jackpot as you called it. It's a one-way ticket to the pits and to my fist!"

"Hah! As if a child who is probably an academy student could hope to defeat me! I bet you can't even reach me from where you are, while I on the other hand can attack any time I want to." The young pinkette simply smirked at the man.

"Want to bet on it?" Before any of them knew it Sakura had disappeared from sight and reappeared behind the shinobi. She took a quick glance at his forehead protector and saw the symbol for Rain before he swung one of his swords at her. She ducked below the sword and kicked at the rain shinobi's feet, knocking him off balance. He landed on his back as he tried to regain his footing Sakura yelled out for her companions and tossed an object towards them.

"You guys! Light that up! It's a signal flare, use it to grab the attention of any shinobi that are nearby!" _'Although I can beat this guy I can't risk wasting any chakra, not when I have five other people to worry about. And my body's still not used to being put under so much stress. At least with the flare one of the Uchihas or anyone else should be able to help.' _Sasuke took the flare from Naruto who had caught it and used one of his fire jutsus. _'Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!'_ A small fireball flared out of Sasuke's mouth as he lit the flare. _'Please Aniki! I need you!'_ Praying that his older Anbu-ranked brother would come to his aide.

Sakura saw the flare shoot out a light and streamed upward towards the sky. Then the rain Shinobi released all of his kunai towards the girl. Unfortunately for him Sakura had easily dodged the attack and sent chakra towards her feet. This increased her speed, then with quick precision she punched the shinobi right where his lung was located. Causing him to struggle breathing for air, he was down on his knees while holding his stomach, which made him the perfect height for one of Sakura's kicks. It connected with his left cheek and sent flying towards the edge of the lake. The rain shinobi tried his best to get up, but as he saw his young female opponent approach him slowly, fear took over. He screamed and squirmed for mercy.

"No! Stay away you monster! Please Spare me!" Sakura had stopped where she was. And stood in front of the man.

"Would have done the same if those guys on the port begged for forgiveness?" It was more a rhetorical question. She knew that there was no way that he would show mercy to them, or to herself for that matter if she were in their situation.

"O-of course I would have! I-I was only joking with them!" Her emerald eyes narrowed.

"I know that you're a shinobi and all, but couldn't you tell a less obvious lie?" The rain shinobi turned as pale as snow. At that moment several other people appeared before Sakura, her friends and their attacker. One of them being Itachi, he quickly approached his younger brother.

"Sasuke are you alright?" His face was clam and stoic, hiding all of his emotions from others. He was indeed a true shinobi, one to be feared and for good reason. His younger brother on the other hand wasn't as calm as his older brother.

"A-aniki you came!" He ran up towards his idol and gave a firm hug, hiding his face from public view. _'Poor Sasuke, he must have been terrified. I let my guard down, I should have been more careful about any intruders that might have tried to kidnap or kill Sasuke. Afterall his bloodline makes him a good target for other shinobi.'_ The older Uchiha glanced back at Sakura who was still in front of the invader. _'She's a lot better than I thought. To think she could take on a B-ranked criminal all by herself. I'm glad she came when she did. Otherwise who knows what could have happened here?'_ As he was inspecting the surrounding area for any signs of other shinobi, he noticed how exhausted Sakura looked. Then he saw that Naruto and Lee were in the same condition. Itachi released himself from his brother's hug and asked the two injured boys some questions.

"Naruto, Lee can I ask you two a few things?" This grabbed the attention of two said boys and they looked up to make eye contact with the older boy. And nodded, giving him approval to question them. "Well for starters, why are you two and Sakura so worn out?"

"Ah well that's because before we came here we were training. Sakura-chan taught us some cool techniques!"

"I see, well then how did you guys come here at the right time to save Sasuke? Or was it just a coincidence?"

"Actually after our training with Sakura-san the three of us were making our way here since Naruto-kun likes to walk in this area. That's when Sakura-san sensed danger."

What young Lee had said piqued Itachi's interest. _'So her senses are heightened enough to sense an enemy, really impressive for someone who has yet to enroll in the academy to receive official training.'_

"Ok, is there anything else you two can tell me?" The two thought for a moment. They didn't believe that they left anything out in particular, until Sasuke interrupted.

"Sakura was the one to give us the signal flare to light, and she beat that guy up with ease." Pointing at the rain shinobi who was still frightened by Sakura. She waited until the other shinobi had him bound and began to carry him off who knows where. Afterwards she ran across the water to meet up with the other children and Itachi. _'So she has knowledge of the flare? I though only offical shinobi were taught about that? How did she know?'_

"Are you alright Sasuke?" The young Uchiha gave a silent nod, letting her know that he was fine. Sakura then turned to Ino who was still shaken up from the whole affair. Her lips curved slightly upward, remembering how fearless Ino was when they were younger to see her now as a scared frightened girl was certainly something else. "And you? Are you ok?" Ino quickly glanced at her savior and nodded her head rapidly. "That's good, I guess we're done here Naruto, Lee we should get going now. I think we've spent enough time here as it is." Before the two young boys could respond Itachi approached Sakura.

"Before you three leave is it alright if I ask you a few questions Sakura?" The response didn't come from Sakura herself, but from Naruto, Lee and Sasuke.

"Wait Aniki, we already told you what happened. Asking for her side will only waste time."

"Sakura-chan hasn't kept any secrets from us, so her version wouldn't any different." Added Naruto.

"That would be true. If I was going to ask her about her accounts as to saving you from a rogue ninja, but I'm not asking her about that." Silence and confusion fell upon the group. Until Sakura broke the silence.

"Then I guess you're going to ask me if I had any prior training in combat or tracking shinobi, right?" Itachi was surprised, but he didn't show it. Her guess was right on the money. He was indeed going to question whether she had any experiences in battle before her fights with the rogue ninja and Sasuke.

"That's right. Since you know can you give me an answer?" Itachi became slightly suspicious, not many people can figure out what his thoughts were before he's said them. So how did Sakura, who's a year away from enrolling in the academy, know? There were many unanswered questions roaming through Itachi's brain, but for the time being he just wants his first question answered.

"No, I haven't received any prior training from anyone." Itachi couldn't believe the words that were coming out of the young girl's mouth.

_'How is that even possible? To be this skilled and not receive training?'_ Sakura read what he was thinking, thanks to one of the abilities Futsunushi gave her. So she added to her previous answer.

"I haven't received training from anyone, other than myself."

"Yourself? You mean you taught and practiced by yourself?" She nodded.

"That's right, there' not many people who would take someone my age seriously, especially in ninjutsu. So I had to take control of the situation myself and read on various books about ninjutsu and the history of the shinobi nations. Then apply my learning through rigorous practice, until I've perfected them." Her last comment dumbfounded everyone. Of course she had lied about not receiving training from Tsunade and Kakashi, but she wasn't about to tell them that. How could she, when technically, she has never met them. Itachi was a rather difficult person to convince, Sakura couldn't be any older than 4, there was no way she could be able to accomplish so much at such a young age, unless she's a genius such as himself. The one that would appear once every decade. As Itachi was contemplating about Sakura's situation an idea suddenly sparked in her mind.

"Itachi-sempai?" Bringing the Uchiha genius from his thoughts he responded to the call of the girl.

"Yes Sakura?"

"I have a favor, or rather a request to make."

"A request?" After a few seconds of thinking he gave her a positive response. "If it's anything reasonable then I don't see why not."

"Thank you. My request is to be your student." Silence once again filled the air, then went away as Sasuke made an outburst of disapproval.

"No! Itachi barely has any time to teach me ninjutsu! What makes you think that he'll teach you, someone who isn't family or even an Uchiha?" Sakura's emerald eyes glared at the young boy before she gave her reply.

"It's true that it would make sense if I had the Sharingan or any kekkei genkai like you or Neji over there to be taught by someone who has experience like Itachi-sempai. However that doesn't mean he can't teach other shinobi any techniques. Right now I don't have anyone to teach but myself, and I feel that Itachi-sempai would be the only one to take me seriously since other adults would look down on me for my age and current status as a shinob-in-training. Please Itachi-sempai, this will be first and last request!" The young future medic took a deep bow and kept her head down.

Itachi was indeed the only one of the more experienced shinobi who would acknowledge Sakura's skill and potential. However what Sasuke said also had some bearing, he doesn't spend enough time as it is with the poor kid. And teaching Sakura would only shorten the time they have together as siblings. After a moment, he made his decision.

"I'm sorry Saskura, but I have to put into account what Sasuke said. I don't spend enough time with him as it is and taking on a pupil will only make it worse. If it's any consolation, I would turn down everybody to be my student but I would have loved to have become your mentor. I'm really sorry about this."

Itachi's refusal didn't bother Sakura in the slightest. She was actually testing to see if it was true. That Itachi places Sasuke above all else, and that when he betrayed the village in the future it was to protect the village and Sasuke. However his plan had backfired and in the end Sasuke was out to destroy Konhagakure. The two things he loved the most in the world were put into a never-ending cycle of battle and destruction against one another. Even so, it would have been nice to be taught by someone of his caliber and part of her was interested in knowing the real Itachi. Everyone else on team 7 had knew or met Itachi, everyone except her. This time things will be different, she will no longer be on the sidelines. This time she'll be the one to change the wheel of fate.

"It's alright Itachi-sempai. I sort of figured that you'd place Sasuke above an outsider like me. Thank you for putting my idea into consideration though." She bowed once more and signaled Lee and Naruto to leave. The two followed, along with a rather silent Neji.

This was how Sakura's journey to the past truly began, the return of old friends.


End file.
